Hasbro has kicked off Pulse Con 2021, their two-day virtual event celebrating its brands and is full of upcoming product reveals and exclusives. The first day covered a couple of brands I’ve been following to varying degrees so let’s talk about that Transformers stuff they showed.
Following the War For Cybertron trilogy, the Transformers Generations line would be returning to what I believe to be their original intent. With a name like “Generations” I believe their initial intent was to have a single line covering Transformers characters spanning multiple universes and… generations. Though their recent trilogy approach really leaned towards reimagining of the Generation 1 story with some exceptions here and there. So with the upcoming Transformers Generation Legacy line, they are aiming to take characters from the 40-year legacy of the franchise and bring characters out with the Generations aesthetic.
Wave 1 of this new line has been revealed and it covers characters from the original Generation 1 series, as well as interesting choices from Transformers: Prime. But being an Optimus Prime collector, I would focus on the obligatory figure included in this opening wave, Laser Optimus Prime from Transformers : Generation 2.
While not appearing in the series, Laser Optimus Prime has become the de facto representation of the Autobot leader in Generation 2. It features a long nose truck with flame deco for the cab section and a oil tanker trailer, which translates to a different transformation and different-looking robot mode. Laser Optimus Prime is tagged as a Leader Class figure, but if you’ll go with how they do these price points nowadays, it will likely be a Voyager Class figure with the trailer extending the cost to Leader price points.
As for the design, it does look like Laser Optimus Prime with the front section of the truck mode becoming the large shoulder pylons and everything else being a straightforward transformation. But knowing Hasbro, they might hide some gems in the transformation engineering so that’s always something to look forward to. You’ll also notice that the Matrix of Leadership is visible inside the translucent chest pieces. Speaking of translucent parts, it comes with an Energon axe and sword. Adding more play value is the trailer that can also transform into a battle station.
This isn’t the first time Hasbro revisited Laser Optimus Prime. Back in 2010 in the Reveal the Shield line, they released a Deluxe class figure inspired by this design and not too long ago in 2016, they went back with the Titans Return version which added a third alternate mode. I would’ve preferred if they also revisited that other Generation 2 Optimus Prime figure, Hero Optimus Prime, the one with the included water pump.
Transformers Generations Legacy Laser Optimus Prime
July 2022 / $49.99
Order via Hasbro Pulse
